Recently I've seen a dramatic increase in the quantity and variety of interactive displays in retail stores. Though some of these have been the more traditional "kiosks" (and yes, we all know they're growing in number), many have been different form factors that don't fit into an existing tracked category of technology penetration.
Here are just a few examples...
KLEENEX: I'm walking through the grocery store and I'm encouraged to push a button to watch a short video clip of a mini ad.
SAFEWAY'S CORDELICO SIRLOIN STEAK: I'm stopped at a mobile food cart in the parking lot to sample a featured new steak that's available in the store.
COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR: I'm waiting to get through the security queue at the airport and the window display directly in front me has an enormous projected touch screen kiosk beckoning travelers to explore the newest in Sorel winter boots.
THE LEGO STORE: There is a special kiosk set up so that shoppers who can't find what they want in the store can order it online right there and have it direct shipped to their homes.
It all sounds so COOL and retail 2.0 right? Well, maybe not. Let me explain.
If the entire purpose of these interactive engagements for retailers is to get my attention for a few minutes, then yes, they certainly do succeed at that. I stopped for all of the above, and there was a brief moment where my interest was indeed piqued. But... THEN WHAT? Each of these stories ends not with a purchase that put money in the pocket of the retailer, but instead left me scratching my head and ultimately walking away.
And now for the rest of the story...
That video display in the aisle at the grocery store? It was located directly in front of the product to be sure, but mounted at about knee level. At that height, only my 6 year old or someone walking hunched over would even notice it, let alone reach down to push the button to trigger the video. And if you do watch the video (and don't run off screaming at the stereotypical "mom" portrayals), then what? No call to action, no reward of a coupon... simply the vague annoyance at having my time wasted with a message unrelated to the task at hand: getting me to buy Kleenex.
That steak in the parking lot? Despite the weather conditions, at first glance I thought this was a GREAT idea! And... it was tasty steak. This approach reminds me a lot of food carts - and those are gaining in popularity all around the United States right now and are ALL the rage here in Portland, Oregon. On one hand, this was brilliant: they captured my attention right in the parking lot, before I even entered the store, and in fact... that yummy bite did get me thinking "mmm... steak..." They also gave me a "recipe card" sized flier with information about the steak and pointed me to the back of the store, promising more samples and information in the meat department. And if you do wend your way through the store to the back in search of steak, then what? No signage, no new information... and even a customer service faux pas as the guy behind the meat counter didn't even know anything net new about the promotion in the parking lot, jokingly told me he didn't know how to pronounce the brand of meat on sale, and (when pressed) even admitted that the labeled meat in the case wasn't even the same product they were sampling out front! HUH? What a waste of my time and their promotional dollars. (To top it off, when I got home and tried to learn more about that delicious meat... a Google search for Safeway Cordelico yields a whopping 91 hits... none of which tell me anything about the product... So, I'm not very likely to come back in for it another time.)
And then there's the airport. The way that airport security lines usually move, I'm definitely a captive audience while in the line, but I easily can't step out of line to a kiosk and still hold my place. And by the time I get to the security checkpoint I'm certainly not pondering a new boot purchase. (Heck, with the 50 lb limitations and bag check fees, I can barely fit those kicky heels into my luggage, let alone a big pair of winter boots!) Great idea and a nice kiosk implementation, but beyond the momentary distraction, then what? I'm not buying, and I can't play with it long enough to make the brand more sticky to me... it just doesn't jibe with the realities of the target audience standing in the security line. Plus, though Columbia Sportswear certainly works in multiple climates, D concourse travelers headed for the Hawaiian Airlines flight to Maui sure aren't going to be thinking about Sorels regardless of the season. Definitely some confusion between the retailer and the brand. To their credit, I did see a fair number of kids going up and playing with it while their parents watched, grateful for any distraction, but it'll be years (even with today's allowance inflation) before they become shoppers themselves.
And when it comes to distraction... the Lego Store takes the cake. Yes, they did have a kiosk set up for on-line ordering in the store. The problem is... it goes to the lego.com site... complete with all the online games hosted on that site. So the kiosk was constantly mobbed by kids, playing the online games (at full volume) and keeping aggravated parents wanting to order product fuming at bay. The kiosk was "retail hardened" meaning the volume was set and locked, leading one of the employees to tell me (after shooing my 9 year old son from the kiosk) that it's been very hard for them to control use in the store and clearly wasn't being utilized as intended. So if you're in the Lego Store and get tired of playing with the augmented reality kiosk and actually want to BUY SOMETHING online, then what? Clawing your way through a crowd of kids to spend your money on a machine may have been fun at video game arcades in the 80s, but as a harried mom on a shopping mission... no thanks, I'll pass on it in a store in the 2000s.
This leads me to think that retailers embracing interactive marketing touchpoints need to think less gimicky and lot more about the call to action. If there were more emphasis on the store experience instead of the "gee whiz" factor, and communication between shopper and store associate were improved, none of the examples I sited above would have discouraged my actual purchase. But, as it stands, there are breaks in the shopping experience that lead me to drop off at certain points, and in each of these examples... I walked away unsatisfied and the retailer was left without my purchase.
As interactive marketing continues to grow and new touchpoints within stores and beyond multiply, retailers are faced with the same choices they have always had: focus on the needs of the shopper and meet them, or dazzle the customer briefly with flash and glamour and leave them unsatisfied and shopping elsewhere. New technology doesn't change that game, the rules are still the same. And the retailers who win will be the ones who give the shoppers a "then what" that helps close the deal and brings them back the next time.
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